Interview with Donna Simpson, Global Talent Acquisition Manager at Pitcher
Hi Donna. You are new at Pitcher. Welcome to the team! What is your exact role at Pitcher?
I am Global Talent Acquisition Manager at Pitcher. I joined only some weeks ago on June 1st.
What is your background? And how did you start in recruitment?
Recruitment chose me! Maybe it was my genuine interest in people, bringing out the best in them and believing that I could make some impact on their futures. My introduction to recruitment began over 20 years ago in the UK after an agency recruiter interviewed me for a role in banking. I remember leaving the interview feeling a little underwhelmed with the process and believed that I could make the candidate experience an even better one! To this day, as a talent acquisition professional, this is a top priority for me, and I will endeavor to create a positive candidate experience irrelevant of the outcome. I like to say “today’s talent is tomorrow’s success”.
I have been blessed to learn from some of the best in the industry, and after my initial role as a recruitment consultant at a well-known high street agency, I progressed and secured a position in a start-up boutique recruitment agency in central London. Here, I supported the MD, built a rewarding desk of recognized clients, and helped grow a driven team of recruiters. After a successful and happy 17 years, I relocated with my husband and three children to Jupiter, Florida and made the transition to start my own company. Fast forward three years and one of my clients approached me to join them as their in-house US talent acquisition leader. In collaboration with HR and the leadership team, I was responsible for creating and implementing an effective talent acquisition function and process, and this was introduced to a team of 1,400 people.
Why did you choose to work with Pitcher?
When I began to look for a new career opportunity, my focus was to join an innovative and growing business ideally with a global presence where I could transition my skills and contribute towards their growth. Pitcher’s career statement, “We are just as passionate about growing our team as we are about growing our customers’ businesses” resonated with me and prompted me to apply.
How do you like the team so far?
My personal interview experience was an enjoyable one, with Andrea, Global Head of People and I being aligned from when we first spoke, conducting my second interview with CFO Christoph Kammel on my birthday and finally meeting with the CRO Arik Brückner where I was able to gain an understanding of the vision and future growth plans for Pitcher along with the role I could play. I feel fortunate to have joined an innovative and dynamic global team who inspire one another and have the common interest of customer success and service delivery.
What are your main priorities for the next few months?
How do we find and keep the best talent whilst maintaining the ethos and culture of our business? It is important to establish that a potential new hire doesn’t just have the relevant or transitional skills required for a role, but that they are aligned with our core values and that we hire people who could become company leaders and mentors to others. We look for people who are highly driven, self-motivated, collaborative, resourceful and able to take ownership of initiatives.
Together with Andrea D’Ambrosio, the awesome HR and TA specialists and our leadership team, we will continue to grow our team and build on our collaborative and positive working environment.
I look forward to meeting and welcoming our future stars and innovators.